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tradelab

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Posts posted by tradelab


  1. My experience with Synergy,i lost 5 times my initial balance ,when the swiss dropped - they are now actively seeking payment of this amount and threatening legal action. They are also portraying themselves as the good guys by saying they have a new Hybrid product , as the famous saying from "F" Troop says " Beware of Man with forked tongue". These guys want it both ways, screw the clients, eg: no forgiving of negative balances, don't send out margin call notices, take over 55 minutes to close out trades when stop loss orders are being instigated every millisecond ( when another Aussie broker , got me out in less than 5 minutes???) and then tell the market they have a new product that is the solution to every retail traders dream. Listening to Christians explanation of "Why: this is , is poetry in motion. he should be selling used cars. I cant comment on IC brokers , but i can say that i also had other accounts with Pepperstone and Axi and they got me out with no negative balance, i lost substantially but didn't end up with a negative balance like i did at Synergy. Please now watch for the long long explanation from Synergy about why this is , why they are the good guys , and why every other broker isn't functioning on the real market, like they are - if this happens again having an account with Synergy will not save you , Hybrid or no Hybrid.

     

    Regardless of this I went ahead with Synergy FX. Surprisingly, everything mentioned by you above seems to be false. The support from the Synergy FX team has been tremendous. I am already seeing minor returns on my investment, but I chose a long term plan, so hopefully, it stays the same.

     

    Will post when I have more good news, but I am satisfied with their service. :)


  2. I am fairly new to this. But I never expected it to be easy to get gold out of this mine. I am doing my part in hope my work pays off, just like we do in every other field.


  3. There are several Forex broker names in Australian Market I always keep hearing about from my friends and people who are into Forex Trading. Out of extensive research and meetings with representatives of these companies I shortlisted - 'Synergy FX' and 'IC Markets'. While both have advantages of their own, which I will list as per my research. I have past experience of forex trading as my tool (But it's always good to help other pro in forex trading to assist you).

     

    A quick comparison can be found here - http://www.forexbrokerz.com/ic-markets-vs-synergy-fx-forex-broker-comparison

     

    I had a chat/phone call with representatives of both the companies, and apart from the services which all forex brokers offer, I will list only the main features -

     

    1. Synergy FX - Negative Balance Protection and the Hybrid Account.

     

    2. IC Markets - Narrow Spreads.

     

    Though 'IC markets' is established, it still has more unhappy customers - http://www.myfxbook.com/reviews/brokers/ic-markets/175981,1

     

    Whereas the Synergy FX is getting popular in my local area with more and more people opting for this, the only reason seems to be the 'Hybrid Account' (http://synergyfx.com.au/synergy-hybrid/)

     

    That is just a quick overview, now I will wait for the forum members to reply with past experience from these two companies.


  4. Hey guys,

    Thanks for this valuable things you have shared with us.I learnt a lot of new ways I needed as a trader.Keeping in mind the 7 things you shares one needs as a trader, I am obliged to write that I lacked these things and was inti losses all the time.But as soon as i started following them profits flowed in.


  5. I think trading education is of otmost importance while trading.So to buy trading education will be quite significant.

    In any type of trading we generally look for profits and to gain profit we should go to any level of learning for which we need trading education.

    So in my opinion it's very imporant that we focus in trading education

    Cheers


  6. A significant advantage in forex trading is the ability to trade for twenty four hours each day throughout the week. However, the trading day consists of multiple trading sessions: the European session, American session and the Asian session – also known as the London, New York and Tokyo or Sydney sessions. This is because there is no single exchange in the forex market and different countries trade at different times.

     

    An advantage in forex trading is the ability to trade for twenty four hours each day throughout the week.

    When the traders in London have stopped trading for the day, the traders in New York continue. When the traders in New York stop trading for the day, then the traders in Sydney begin.


  7. As a Buy and Hold Investor for 10+ years I have seen a lot of things, made some mistakes and met a lot of people in the real estate business. This collection of experience has lead me to form an opinion on what makes a Buy and Hold Investor Successful.

     

    1.)You Make Money When You Buy

    The first thing I want to discuss is the standard statement of “You make your Money when you Buy.” When I started investing I thought I knew what this meant but in reality I had no clue. I got lucky because we were buying property in a rising market and thus, “luck” insured we were well taken care when we started investing.

     

    I don’t know about you but I don’t believe in “luck” as a business strategy. I will take all the good luck we receive, but I will never count on it. After 10 Years of investing I have a much better understanding of the statement that you make your money when you buy.

     

    2.)Fast Occupancy and Low Turnover

     

    Second, I want to ensure Fast Occupancy and Low Turnovers. One of the components of buy and hold investing that I enjoy the most is reviewing a distressed asset and envisioning how we can turn it around quickly.

     

    As a buy and hold investor one of your most important tasks is to quickly attract tenants and then ensure they stay as long as possible. This means that I generally fix the exterior first and I put in a sizzle feature or two that will force prospective tenants to stop the car and look at my rental property. If they don’t stop the car, they won’t rent your property.

     

    3.)Establishing a Defined and Repeatable Process

     

    The characteristic that has made us the most successful is our creation of a defined and repeatable process. When you have a defined and repeatable process you can look for opportunities to improve and tweak your model.

     

    The process does not need to be complicated, and in fact it should be easy to understand. Our process starts with constantly staying in the market, talking with new agents all the way through closing on a deal, and properly repairing the property.


  8. Yes I do trading for a living. I am not retired and I am not in full or part time employment. I do not depend upon the trading income for my day-to-day expenses. First of all I want to keep myself physically and mentally busy. I do not like to gossip. I want to earn at least before tax return of 20-25% on my investment. I do both short-term, intraday and long term trading. Suppose I invest Rs50 lacs, my aim is earn Rs1 Lac a month excluding long term term capital gains. I hope to achieive the samt from Fiscal 2015-16. I started on a small way in Sep 13. This will be my full year.


  9. DEFINITION OF 'BINARY OPTION'

    A type of option in which the payoff is structured to be either a fixed amount of compensation if the option expires in the money, or nothing at all if the option expires out of the money. The success of a binary option is thus based on a yes/no proposition, hence “binary”. A binary option automatically exercises, meaning the option holder does not have the choice to buy or sell the underlying asset.

     

    Investors may find binary options attractive because of their apparent simplicity, especially since the investor must essentially only guess whether something specific will or will not happen. For example, a binary option may be as simple as whether the share price of ABC Company will be above $25 on February 7th at 10:45 am. If ABC’s share price is $27 at the appointed time, the option automatically exercises and the option holder gets a preset amount of cash.

     

    Binary options are significantly different from vanilla options. They are occasionally traded on platforms regulated by the SEC and other regulatory agencies, but are most likely traded over the Internet on platforms existing outside of regulations. Because these platforms operate outside of regulations, investors are at greater risk of fraud. For example, a binary options trading platform may require the investor to deposit a sum of money to purchase the option. If the option expires out-of-the-money, meaning the investor chose the wrong proposition, the trading platform may take the entire sum of deposited money with no refund provided.


  10. We always desire to save some amount of money for investing in places that can provide good returns. An intelligent investment has the reputation of being successful. Money management is a skill and is not a simple process. There are number of considerations in the process that must be paid along with open-ended risks.

     

    Whether you are saving for house, child’s education or retirement, you need a plan to make your money grow. Here are 6 rules to follow:

     

    1. Investors, don’t listen to financial media

     

    If you really want to invest intelligently, ignore the facts you hear from financial media, since many of these facts are meant to distract you towards making expensive mistakes. Even if you hear something and it turns out to be true, don’t get tempted to follow it.

     

    Before the news hits the mainstream, it has already been heard by thousands other investors out there and has lost the edge there itself.

     

    Don’t let media and trends nurture your bad investing habits.

     

    2. An unemotional discipline pays off

     

    The ability to manage fear and risk determines the success for the investment. There is no magic formula or short-cuts in the market for successful investment.

     

    Avoid impulse buying. You cannot afford to be an optimist or pessimist with the numbers involved here, you need to be a realist, who analyses and evaluates the facts and figures and then arrives at an objective view. He accounts for the possibility of things turning wrong and accepts his mistakes. Yes, it’s tough to be a realist.

     

    Don’t let emotions drive your investment decisions.

     

    3. Don’t follow the trends, anticipate them

     

    If you have some money to invest, the first thing you need to know is that you shouldn’t follow the herd. It’s easy to lean towards the trends as we are easily influenced by public opinion. Going with the crowd would never yield good results.

     

    Noise trading is a pitfall many traders fall for. They often get confused by the false signals sent out by the overall market trend and trading pattern. In today’s market going up and down, traders should do the due diligence.

     

    You don’t want to be one among the crowd, but stay ahead of it.

     

    4. Spend less than you earn

     

    If you want to build wealth, all you need to do is spend less than what you earn. This sound obvious, but many people don’t live by this central occupant while dealing with their finances. The wider the gap between earning and spending, the more financial success you get. The formula is composed of two connected ideas:

     

    Earn more: You can increase income through strategies like switching jobs, getting an appraisal or starting a small business.

    Spend less: You can reduce your spending through different forms of frugality.

    The only thing between your wealth and you is the willingness to act on this enduring wisdom.

     

    5. Know where the money goes

     

    Keeping a track of your spending is important for investment; this is the best way to stay true to your goals and budget. Use your smartphone, old-school spreadsheet or use an app like Quickbooks to keep track of your finances, so that you have a good idea where you are standing. Just write it down!

     

    Check if the plan matches your spending reality. There are services that send you email alert when you have exceeded budget to keep you accountable.

     

    6. Identify your risk tolerance level

     

    You must have heard of the phrase, “no pain, no gain” – these words sum up the relationship between risk and reward. It’s important for you to understand that any investment involves some degree of risk; however, these risks are calculated in relation to potential payout.

     

    You need to know your risk tolerance limit, strength and weakness, since the act of investing is an emotional one for many beginners. Don’t just think of the upside, but also consider the prospect of losing all the money.

     

    For whatever reason investors lose their tolerance, they begin to take decisions tainted by emotions that are almost never good decisions.


  11. Firstly we need to know what is a gap trading strategy.Basically gap trading is a simple and disciplined approach to buying and shorting stocks. Essentially one finds stocks that have a price gap from the previous close and watches the first hour of trading to identify the trading range. Rising above that range signals a buy, and falling below it signals a short.

     

    A gap is a change in price levels between the close and open of two consecutive days. Although most technical analysis manuals define the four types of gap patterns as Common, Breakaway, Continuation and Exhaustion, those labels are applied after the chart pattern is established. That is, the difference between any one type of gap from another is only distinguishable after the stock continues up or down in some fashion. Although those classifications are useful for a longer-term understanding of how a particular stock or sector reacts, they offer little guidance for trading.


  12. I guess we need to know what exactly bond futures are,

    A bond future is a contractual obligation for the contract holder to purchase or sell a bond on a specified date at a predetermined price. A bond future can be bought in a futures exchange market and the prices and dates are determined at the time the future is purchased.

     

    Bond contracts are standardized, and are overseen by a regulatory agency that ensures a certain level of equality and consistency. However, this form of derivative can be risky because it involves trading at a future date with only current information. The risk is potentially unlimited, for either the buyer or seller of the bond because the price of the underlying bond may change drastically between the exercise date and the initial agreement.


  13. Oil prices are showing a clear bullish bias since yesterday breaching 50.00 and stabilizing above it, and MACD is almost providing a positive signal that could push the price further to the upside. But we need to be on the sidelines temporarily to monitor the pair at the support 50.00 and resistance 52.00, whereas breaking this support brings the price back to the downside, while breaching the resistance pushes the price further to the upside towards 55.55.

     

    Support: 51.60, 50.80, 50.00, 49.00, 47.95

    Resistance: 52.00, 52.40, 53.00, 53.80, 54.25

     

    Recommendation Positive expectations above 52.00, risk-limit below 50.00. Negative below 50.00, risk-limit above 52.00.

     

     

    http://www.oilngold.com/images/stories/contributors/ecpulse/2015020621.gif


  14. Hey great news.Thanks a lot for providing this valuable information.

    I being a broker was looking forward this decision for a long time and to get this news from this forum is a thing to be overjoyed for.

    As i am following these forums for a long time now and to get such information here is actually great.

    Looking forward for more such experience and news.

    Cheers.


  15. A mentality characterized by a lack of individual decision-making or thoughtfulness, causing people to think and act in the same way as the majority of those around them. In finance, a predator instinct would relate to instances in which individuals gravitate to the same or similar investments, based almost solely on the fact that many others are investing in those stocks. The fear of regret of missing out on a good investment is often a driving force behind herd instinct.


  16. Hey guys here is a cool video explaining you about fear and uncertainty in trading.

    Reducing Fear and Eliminating Uncertainty When Trading With Live Money

     

    Nate discusses the four reasons that cause Fear and Uncertainty in Traders when they make the shift to using Live Money. Nate shows you his Fear Reducer Trade Setup Card, which you prepare before each trading day. Nate explains both sides of the card and shows you exactly how he uses the Fear Reducer Trade Setup Card to execute trade setups in the market.

     


  17. Principle #1: Always Invest with a Margin of Safety

    Margin of safety is the principle of buying a security at a significant discount to its intrinsic value, which is thought to not only provide high-return opportunities, but also to minimize the downside risk of an investment.

     

    Principle #2: Expect Volatility and Profit from It

    Investing in stocks means dealing with volatility. Instead of running for the exits during times of market stress, the smart investor greets downturns as chances to find great investments.

     

    Principle #3: Know What Kind of Investor You Are

    You only have two real choices: The first choice is to make a serious commitment in time and energy to become a good investor who equates the quality and amount of hands-on research with the expected return. If this isn't your cup of tea, then be content to get a passive ( possibly lower) return but with much less time and work.


  18. Here are 3 Tips you should follow :-

    1. Sell the losers and let the winners ride!

    Time and time again, investors take profits by selling their appreciated investments, but they hold onto stocks that have declined in the hope of a rebound. If an investor doesn't know when it's time to let go of hopeless stocks, he or she can, in the worst-case scenario, see the stock sink to the point where it is almost worthless. Of course, the idea of holding onto high-quality investments while selling the poor ones is great in theory, but hard to put into practice.

     

    2. Don't chase a "hot tip".

    Whether the tip comes from your brother, your cousin, your neighbor or even your broker, you shouldn't accept it as law. When you make an investment, it's important you know the reasons for doing so; do your own research and analysis of any company before you even consider investing your hard-earned money. Relying on a tidbit of information from someone else is not only an attempt at taking the easy way out, it's also a type of gambling. Sure, with some luck, tips sometimes pan out. But they will never make you an informed investor, which is what you need to be to be successful in the long run.

     

     

    3. Don't sweat the small stuff.

    As a long-term investor, you shouldn't panic when your investments experience short-term movements. When tracking the activities of your investments, you should look at the big picture. Remember to be confident in the quality of your investments rather than nervous about the inevitable volatility of the short term. Also, don't overemphasize the few cents difference you might save from using a limit versus market order.


  19. New investors taking their first steps towards learning the basics of stock trading should have access to multiple sources of quality education. Just like riding a bike, trial and error coupled with the ability to keep pressing forth will eventually lead to success.

     

    One great advantage of stock trading lies in the fact that the game itself lasts a lifetime. Investors have years to develop and hone their skills. Strategies used twenty years ago are still utilized today. The game is always in full force.

     

    Here are 10 ways to adapt to if you are new to trading:-

     

    1. Open a Stock Broker Account

    Find a good online stock broker and open an account. Become familiarized with the layout and to take advantage of the free trading tools offered to clients only. Some brokers even offer virtual trading which is extremely beneficial because you can trade with play money. You can find a list of brokers that support virtual trading on StockBrokers.com.

     

    2. Read Books

    Books provide a wealth of information and are usually inexpensive. Here on the site I have a full list of 20 great stock trading books for investors to consider. My personal all time favorite is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O’Neil, founder of CANSLIM Trading (find more books written by William O’Neil).

     

    3. Read Articles

    Articles can serve as a fantastic resource and are usually easy to understand and follow. Our free Stock Education page here on Stock Trading To Go lists over 100 unique investment articles broken down into categories. Everything from ETFs to margin trading and technical analysis basics are covered. I also recommend checking out investopedia.com.

     

    4. Find a Mentor

    A mentor could be a family member, a friend, a past or current professor, co-worker, or any individual that has a fundamental understanding of the stock market. A good mentor is willing to answer questions, provide help, recommend useful resources, and keep spirits up when the market gets tough. All successful investors of the past and present have had mentors during their early days.

     

    5. Ask Lots of Questions

    Having a place to ask questions and receive answers is a huge asset for any new investor. In school asking questions to a teacher/instructor/professor or leveraging online stock forums there is always someone readily available to help the cause. Some popular stock forums include Elite Trader and Trade2Win.

     

    6. Browse Financial News Sites

    News sites such as Yahoo Finance and Google Finance serve as a great resource for new investors. By reading headline stories investors can expose themselves to different stock terms for example. Pulling quotes and observing fundamental data can also serve as another good source of exposure.

     

    7. Consider Paid Subscriptions

    Paying for research and analysis can be both educational and useful. Some investors may find watching or observing market professionals to be more beneficial than trying to apply newly learned lessons themselves. There are many paid subscription sites available including Dan Zanger, Investors.com, and Morningstar just to name a few.

     

    8. Watch TV

    When the stock market is open CNBC is the #1 source for financial news. Even turning on CNBC for 15 minutes a day will broaden an investors knowledge base. Don’t let the lingo or the style of news be a nuisance, just simply watch and allow the commentators, interviews, and comments to soak in. Note though, over time you may find that a lot of the investing shows on TV are more of a distraction and overall full of crap. This is a natural occurrence; you are not alone!

     

    9. Go to Seminars

    Seminars can provide valuable insight into the overall market and specific investment types. Most seminars will focus on one specific aspect of the market and how the speaker has found success utilizing their own strategies over the years. Note all seminars have be paid for either. Some seminars are provided free which can be a beneficial experience, just be conscious of the sales pitch that will almost always come at the end.

     

    10. Sign up for our Free Daily Market Recaps

    Join over 17,000 other investors and receive our daily posts via email using the subscribe box below or on the sidebar, or subscribe via a reader. I invite all new investors to make StockTradingToGo a part of their daily investment routine.


  20. Some traders come to find that despite being familiar with winning strategies, and having the ability to be consistently green, they still struggle. If you should fall into this category, welcome, your answer lies ahead. You will need to understand what is really going on. You will need to be mentally aware, that you are mentally aware. Only then can you embrace the solution.

     

    If your mind isn’t programmed to succeed, your trading will be affected. Success in trading is largely dependent on the psychological state of mind. Trading is a performance oriented discipline. Anxiety, stress, and mental pressures can affect the ability to function properly and negatively impact the bottom line. Before trading on any given day you need to be in your special happy place. If you’re not, you are at risk of getting emotionally involved with your trades. That’s a recipe for disaster. If mind over matter isn’t exercised properly, the conscious mind can ruin your day, again and again by a process called self sabotage. If the minds eye can’t see and believe the plan on a subconscious level, the conscious mind will ignore your true desires through self preservation. Below are videos to help you understand your subconscious mind and it’s function in becoming a successful trader.


  21. With all of the disadvantages, it appears as though it is not possible to trade a small account profitably. This is not the case, and small accounts are traded profitably by many traders (including professional traders). The following advice is provided from the perspective of under capitalized accounts, but the advice actually applies to all trading accounts (even the $1,000,000 accounts).

     

    Trade Using Leverage - Trading using leverage allows small account traders to trade markets that they cannot trade using cash. For example, trading individual stocks directly requires approximately 25% to 30% of the trade's value in cash (assuming a typical margin requirement). However, trading the same underlying stock using the options or warrants markets (both highly leveraged markets), only requires approximately 15% of the trade's value in cash. Note that leverage should not be used to increase the trade's size (i.e. the number of shares), but should only be used to reduce the trade's margin requirements.

    Trade Conservatively - Traders with well funded accounts have the luxury of making trades with high risk (e.g. large stop losses relative to their targets). Trader with small accounts must be more cautious, and make sure that their risk to reward ratio, and their win to loss ratio are being calculated and used correctly.

    Adhere to the One Percent Risk Rule - Trading in accordance with the one percent risk rule provides a small account with the same buffer (against mistakes, unexpected losses, etc.) as a large account. Many professional traders abide by the one percent risk rule regardless of the size of their trading accounts, because it is a very effective risk management technique.

    Some traders adamantly state that under capitalized trading accounts cannot be traded successfully. This is not true. Small trading accounts may be more difficult to trade successfully, but if they are traded correctly, there is no reason why small trading accounts cannot be profitable.

     

    By controlling the stress that is often associated with under capitalization, focusing on risk management, and correctly applying their risk management techniques (especially the one percent risk rule), small account traders can make a good living from their trading, and may be able to turn their small account into a large account.


  22. Learners or trainees tend to begin at stage 1 - 'unconscious incompetence'.

     

    They pass through stage 2 - 'conscious incompetence', then through stage 3 - 'conscious competence'.

     

    And ideally end at stage 4 - 'unconscious competence'.

     

    Perhaps the simplest illustration of importance of appreciating the need for staged learning is that teachers and trainers can wrongly assume trainees to be at stage 2, and focus effort towards achieving stage 3, when often trainees are still at stage 1. Here the trainer assumes the trainee is aware of the skill existence, nature, relevance, deficiency, and that there will be a benefit from acquiring the new skill. Whereas trainees at stage 1 - unconscious incompetence - have none of these things in place, and will not be able to address achieving conscious competence until they've become consciously and fully aware of their own incompetence. This is a fundamental reason for the failure of a lot of training and teaching.

     

    If the awareness of skill and deficiency is low or non-existent - ie., the learner is at the unconscious incompetence stage - the trainee or learner will simply not see the need for learning. It's essential to establish awareness of a weakness or training need (conscious incompetence) prior to attempting to impart or arrange training or skills necessary to move trainees from stage 2 to 3. People only respond to training when they are aware of their own need for it, and the personal benefit they will derive from achieving it.


  23. Make no mistake about it. A trader's self-concept has to be separate from the trading. Who you are as a person began before you ever thought of trading and who you will be as a person will extend beyond your trading. When personal self-worth entwines with trading, it not only damages self esteem, it sabotages the trading.

     

    You hear about it. You read about it. Don't be misled. Traders tell stories. They write stories. They tell how great they are. Big trades. Big numbers. Big egos. Hubris. And sooner or later, big downfalls. It goes with the territory.

     

    Consider the outsized egos of certain traders who brought themselves and those associated with them to ruin. Nicholas Leeson brought down the Barings Bank. Victor Niederhoffer ran his fund into deficit. John Merriweather threatened the health of our banking system by betting more than fifty times his capital that his strategies were certain to work, that he could forecast with impunity the direction of various bond markets. There's a pattern here of seeming or real success for a while and then collapse for themselves and for those caught up in blindly following them. As Wayne Dyer said, "Authentic freedom cannot be experienced until one learns to tame the ego and move out of self-absorption."


  24. Our biases can affect our trading, even when we don't think we are trading on biased information. Also, when an outcome appears vague, we err in our judgment, even though we have a conception of how the market is supposed to move. Our anticipations can also be deterrents from achieving what it is we think we want. To aid us in these potential problems, we can remove biased inputs, gain more understanding of market probabilities and define what it is we really want from our trading.


  25. DEFINITION OF 'BLACK SCHOLES MODEL'

    A model of price variation over time of financial instruments such as stocks that can, among other things, be used to determine the price of a European call option. The model assumes that the price of heavily traded assets follow a geometric Brownian motion with constant drift and volatility. When applied to a stock option, the model incorporates the constant price variation of the stock, the time value of money, the option's strike price and the time to the option's expiry.

     

    Also known as the Black-Scholes-Merton Model.

     

    In other words:-

     

    The Black Scholes Model is one of the most important concepts in modern financial theory. It was developed in 1973 by Fisher Black, Robert Merton and Myron Scholes and is still widely used today, and regarded as one of the best ways of determining fair prices of options.

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